


The Life of Chaos

by IBlameBioware



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: F/M, I haven't actually romanced Garrus, I make no promises of happiness, Kinda co-opted a friends Shep for this, Post Destroy Ending
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-13
Updated: 2017-08-23
Packaged: 2018-11-13 16:37:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 1,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11189109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IBlameBioware/pseuds/IBlameBioware
Summary: A collection of shorts detailing Eris Shepard's life after destroying the Reapers





	1. Chapter 1

_Come back alive._

The scarred N7 helmet sits on the shelf across him. Charred from atmospheric re-entry. Cracked from hundreds of bullets. Crumbling from repeatedly hitting earth, stone and steel. He stares at the visor, remembering every time her determined eyes had shone through, grinning at him after a firefight, concentrating on hacking a comms system, sympathising with a distraught survivor.

_Come back alive._

A scarred N7 helmet sits in the rubble that once was the Citadel. Charred from Harbinger's beam. Cracked from the flying shrapnel in the final charge. Crumbling from the weight of the Citadel falling onto it. She stares out the visor, watching the edges of the galaxy start to fade to black. The stars come back into focus as she manages to find air. Words echo around her skull, becoming her mantra.

_Come back alive._

 


	2. Chapter 2

He sits by an empty hospital bed, snapping around at every sound. Medical files are strewn on the floor in front of him. _Multiple fractures. Third degree burns. Punctured lung. Ruptured liver. Internal haemorrhaging._

Every page says the same. _Seriously injured. Critical condition. Life threatening._ He can hear the whispers from the medical staff. That there's too much damage. That only a miracle can save her.

"Miranda?" He rises abruptly, sending more files across the floor.

"She'll pull through, Garrus. Even if she   
wasn't 30% cybernetics, it _is_ Shepard we're talking about. She cured the Genophage and ended the Geth War. A small thing like dying won't stop her." They walk the polished hall to a recovery room. After receiving a nod of assent from Miranda, he crashes through the doors to see Shepard covered in bandages, but breathing. Alive. He remembers his order. _Come back alive._

_You did it._


	3. Chapter 3

Shepard slowly puts her feet on the ground for the first time in weeks. _Foot. You only have one now._ A prosthetic sits in place of her right foot, which she views with a weird sense of detachment. She can move it, she can _feel_ it, yet it doesn't feel like a part of her leg. It feels... distant.

"If you would stand up, Shepard. Just because I have an extended lifespan doesn't mean I have two more years to watch you come back from the dead. Again." Miranda stands at the end of the bed, tapping away at a medical file. Shepard lifts her right hand to flip her off. Only she can't. _No hand. Right. No right hand. Damn it._ Shifting her weight, she succeeds with her left hand and gets a glare in response.

Slowly, unsteadily, she gets up off the bed, uncertain of her capability to balance. Garrus holds out his arm for support, which she grabs as she began to topple sideways. She gingerly puts her right leg forward, her muscles complaining after weeks of bed rest.

But she doesn't fall. 


	4. Chapter 4

Open. Close. Open. Close.

Shepard still isn't used to her prosthetic hand. She moves each finger slowly, precisely, staring at them with a sense of detachment. Holding both hands out flat, she studies the differences. Motorised joints, metallic casing, and multicoloured wiring on the right. Bruised knuckles, scars dividing the skin, an uncontrollable tremor on the left.

"You're clear to leave, Shepard." Miranda watches as she quickly clenches her hand and hides it from view.

"And go where? London was a ruin the last time I saw it." Shepard speaks with no emotion. Miranda slowly reaches over and puts her hand on Shepard's shoulder.

"You've been in here for twelve weeks. A lot of temporary infrastructure has been going up, and repairs on the more important buildings." Miranda offers a quick explanation of the events of the last three months.

"Well whoop-de-do." A smirk appears on her face. Wobbling slightly, Shepard lets Miranda guide her through the maze of halls to the main door of the hospital. Giving her a nod of thanks, she limps towards the door, shoving it open with her shoulder despite Miranda's objecting in the background.

And Garrus is there, waiting for her.


	5. Chapter 5

"Spirits! What the hell was that?" Garrus staggers sideways, leaving Shepard swaying on the edge of the Thames. She wavers for a few seconds, before finding her balance and planting her left leg solidly on the ground.

"That was a seagull, probably looking for food. And where did you learn English swearing?" She motions at Garrus to come closer, and grabs his arm as they restart their walk.

"Jack." Garrus offers. There is no other explanation needed. Shepard goes to respond, but a much better thought strikes her.

"Hey, maybe that seagull was your cousin. Turians are avian, right?" She manages to say this completely deadpan. Garrus just stands there, mouth agape as he tries to think of any kind of response. Silence hangs in the air as Shepard watches him struggle for words. His eye glints as he settles on his retort, and a smug grin appears on his face.

"Fuck over."

Shepard laughs for the first time in months.

 


	6. Chapter 6

Knocks ring out on the door of Shepard’s cabin. Groaning theatrically, she rolls over to get off the bed. Instead of landing feet first as intended, she thumps ungracefully onto the floor, where she mutters angrily at the metal flooring. 

“EDI, open my cabin door.” Shepard accepts her position and settles in a pretty decent impression of a dead body. “Please.” She adds as an afterthought. 

“Of course, Shepard.” Shepard glares at the source of the sound, sure that she heard sarcasm in EDI’s tone. 

“Why are you on the floor?” Garrus stands in the doorway, arms crossed. 

“No ‘Hello, dear, how are you, dear, I missed you so terribly, dear?’” She asks, her tone dripping with sarcasm. After finding a grip on the blankets, Shepard pulls herself back up onto the bed. Garrus gives her an exceedingly withering look. “It was comfy." 

"Well, if you don’t want the gift I spent so long organising…” He starts walking back to the elevator, a smirk starting to ruin his seriousness. 

“What gift?” All attempts at remaining serious are abandoned as Garrus walks back into cabin, this time holding a small box. Shepard squints at it, certain she can hear noises coming from it. 

“Well, after a few weeks trying to frantically fix the Normandy, we may have forgotten about your hamster. So I thought, maybe…” He hands her the box. An eyebrow raised, Shepard carefully opens the box.

“How the fuck did you find a hamster?" 

"Would you believe a pet store escaped here in London?" 

"No." 

"Yeah, we had it brought in from Peru." 

He ducks as Shepard goes to whack him on the shoulder.


	7. Chapter 7

Shepard looks Garrus up and down as he stands on her doorstep, fidgeting nervously. 

"Where did you get a tuxedo?" 

"I-"

"Why do you even have one?" 

"Because-" 

"When did you get one?" 

"Last week!" Shepard opens her mouth to ask another question. "No, I've started now. Give me at least 30 seconds before you interrupt. We're going out. There's a charity 'Ball,' as you humans call it. I was offered tickets. I got two-" 

"They offered you tickets? I'd already turned them down." 

"10 seconds, Shepard. I'm not sure you even tried. And you," He pushes past her, zeroing in her wardrobe and picking out the one dress she owned, "Are coming with me." Shepard covers her face with her hands. 

"I'm going to regret this." 

\--- 

"Yep, I regret this." 

"Come on, it's fun!" Garrus is closely watching his feet, trying not to trip over anything. "Also, you're very good at this." 

"There's a reason I'm infamous at dancing in bars. I'm ballroom trained." 

"No." "There was a course in the - just shut up. You heard nothing." 

"Too late!" Tali dances past waving her omnitool. 

Garrus spends the rest of the night making sure Shepard doesn't murder her crewmates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand I'm back. I kinda moved states and got a bit distracted from this.


End file.
